Between October 18–21, this website will move to a new web address (from health.gov to odphp.health.gov). During that time, some functions might not work as expected. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we’re working to make this transition as smooth as possible.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Reduce the proportion of older adults with untreated root surface decay — OH‑04 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 29.1 percent of adults aged 75 years and over had untreated root surface decay in 2015-16

Target: 20.1 percent

Numerator
Number of adults aged 75 and over with root decay that have not been restored observed in at least 1 tooth.
Denominator
Number of adults aged 75 and over who have at least 1 permanent tooth present and valid codes for root decay on at least 1 tooth.
Target-setting method
Minimal statistical significance
Target-setting method details
Minimal statistical significance, assuming the same standard error for the target as for the baseline.
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were not available for this objective. The standard error was used to calculate a target based on minimal statistical significance, assuming the same standard error for the target as for the baseline. This method was used because it was a statistically significant improvement from the baseline.

Methodology

Methodology notes

Untreated dental decay is defined as the presence of untreated tooth decay. Caries is the disease that causes tooth decay and can lead to cavities in teeth. This measurement focuses on root surface decay.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Retained, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 with no change in measurement.